Anything for You
by Fantom Of The Fiction
Summary: Alana and Beverly are best friends and happily married to their husbands. Or so they thought. Alana's in desperate need of a hot roll in the hay with someone other than her husband, and who better to ask than her best friend? But things come up and feelings are brought to light over dinner one night, and nothing's ever the same again.


_A/N: I've been meaning to write this for a while. It's based off of Cathy Celesia's play "Anything for You." The plot and most of the dialogue belongs to her. And I'm not making any money off of this._

Alana looked at her watch as she walked into her favorite restaurant that just so happened to be the place where she first met Beverly.

"Table for two, Bloom." She told the maître d.

"Right this way, madame." He said and he led her to her table. It was in a good spot, right by the window, just how Alana liked it.

"Thank you." She said as she sat down and took the offered menu.

A waitress came up to her not a moment later. "Shall I take your drink order now or would you like to wait for your accompanying guest?"

"Oh, I'll order my drink now. I'd like a Cabernet Sauvignon." she said, not needing to look at the menu. She had come here countless times before and practically had it memorized.

"Right away, madame." The waitress gave a small bow and walked away. That was one of the things she loved about this restaurant; they made it have a very fancy and proper feeling that made her feel like she was dining in Paris.

The waitress returned a few minutes later with her wine. "Shall I take your order now or would you like to wait until your guest arrives?"

"I'll wait, thank you."

The waitress bowed slightly and walked away.

Alana checked her watch again. It was a few minutes past eight, and Beverly was late.

But that was okay. Alana passed the time by watching the other diners enjoy themselves and looking out the window.

Fine minutes later, she saw Beverly's car pull into the parking lot and watched her get out. Beverly rushed by the window but saw Alana through it and gave her an apologetic look.

"Hey, Al." She said as she gave Alana a quick peck on the cheek and sat down. Her hair smelled good. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I was just about to walk out of the BAU when some random intern just flops himself down in Jack's office and announces he's not leaving until someone acknowledges his 'hard work and dedication.'" she made air quotes when she said it. "So this is an intern, nineteen-ish years old, has a house in Purcellville, goes to one of the top private schools in the area, and he's not 'feeling like his hard work is being appreciated.'" She grunted. "_That_ needs acknowledgement."

"Why did _you_ stay?"

"I asked him what he was doing in Jack's office and he wouldn't shut up. He made me wait with him until Jack finally showed up." She gave Alana a look and grabbed her menu. "So have you ordered yet?"

"Oh, I was waiting for yo—

"Anyway, so I'm sitting there for about twenty minutes, trying to sound sincere when I tell him 'Tony, money doesn't compromise your work, it just makes it more affordable.' When what I really wanted to say was 'Listen, this is the Behavioral Sciences Unit. We _work_ here. If you're feeling screwed over or dysfunctional, go talk to whoever's in charge of internships. Bother them! Jack doesn't even know you exist." She huffed and looked at her menu again. "Ooh, the Squab sounds good. What do you think?"

"I'm thinking of switching it up tonight. Instead of getting my usual Caesar salad, I'm going to get lobster."

"Lobster? Look at you, being all fancy."

"Yeah, well, tonight's a night for new things." She smiled.

The two sat there in companionable silence for a while.

Alana glanced up at Beverly and hesitated before closing her menu and setting it on the table. "I need to have an affair." She said matter-of-factly.

"Mhm." Beverly said, distracted and not really listening. "Hm? What'd you say?"

"I said," she looked at her friend expectantly, "Bev."

"Mhm?"

"I need to have an affair." she said, louder this time.

Beverly looked up at her like she had grown a second head. "You don't mean that, right?"

Alana took a deep breath. "Yes, I do."

"An _affair_?"

"Yes."

"_You_?"

Alana nodded.

"But you and Thomas can-"

"No."

"You'll have to clear this up for me. I don't understand."

"Neither do I."

Beverly squinted and pursed her lips. "So basically you're sitting here telling me that you want to ha-"

"No, not want, _need_."

"Why?"

"I don't know. An overwhelming biological necessity for alternative body types? I don't _know._"

Beverly looked around. "Are you really sure this is the place to be discussing this?" she motioned to the other diners sitting around them.

"This is exactly the place. And you're exactly the person. If I don't sleep with someone other than my husband, I won't have any control over myself!"

"Alana!" she chided.

"I'm like a time bomb! Tick, tick, tick!"

"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic?" she asked, skeptical.

"No, not at all! Tick!"

Beverly pondered her declaration. "Have you met someone?"

She shifted in her chair. "When it comes right down to it, everybody's a candidate." She said, eyeing a waiter's rear end as he walked past their table.

Beverly stared at her before breaking into a laugh. "Oh, Al, you're hilarious. You're joking, ha-ha, joke's – joke's on…" she trailed off once she saw how serious Alana was.

"You don't know what it's _like_. I can't work, I can't sleep! All I know is that I want a hot roll in the hay, and that is the extent of my constant abilities."

"I think you should try to show a little control. You sound like a hormonal teenage boy. No, even worse. You sound like _Zee_."

Alana brushed off the comment. "Yesterday, I looked at a clock, and I _forgot_ how to tell time."

"You sound like Will Graham." She picked up Alana's glass that was full of wine, intending to take a sip considering she hadn't ordered a drink yet, but Alana grabbed her wrist which made her set her glass back on the table.

"I'm losing my mind!"

"You certainly are! Thomas-"

"Is sweet and good and kind I _know_. He adapts. No matter how crazy I am! '_You're right_', '_I won't do that anymore_', '_I won't put the silverware away like that anymore_.'" She mimicked. "I could tell him I want to chuck it all for some sugarcane farm in Borneo and he would be researching farming techniques and plane fares within the hour."

Beverly gave her a look. "Yeah, you've got a _terrible_ marriage. _So_ much to complain about."

"I'm not complaining! But, God, if I don't find someone to sear me to the bones, I'm going to explode! Little pieces of me flying over Virginia and out of my classroom window and settling on some old lady in the park! E_xplode_!"

"I don't know what to say, you've put me in a difficult position. I love Thomas."

"So do I."

"He and Steven are best friends."

"Like brothers."

"And you're my best friend." Beverly said, resting her hands on the table.

Alana put her hand on one of Beverly's. "Yes." She said with a glint of something in her eyes.

Beverly eyed their hands. "Yes _what_?"

"We're best friends."

"Yes?"

"You'd do anything for me."

"Of course I would. You know that." Her eyes flickered between their hands and Alana's face. "What are you driving at?"

Alana put her other hand over Beverly's. "Sleep with me."

Beverly's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Sleep with me, Bev. Make love to me until I beg you to stop!"

Beverly pried her hand loose from Alana's. "You can't be serious!"

"I couldn't bear myself with another man. Not to mention what it would do to Thomas if he found out. But _you_-"

"Are astonished!"

"You're a _woman_, Bev! It wouldn't be cheating, it would be experimenting!"

"Now _that's_ completely rude _and_ false. You're out of your mind!"

"Will you do it?" she asked, reaching for Beverly's hand again.

Beverly pulled her hand away. "Of course not!"

"Why not?" she groaned.

"First of all, no offense, but I'm not physically attracted to you." She sat back and crossed her arms. "Seco-"

"Liar." Alana accused, her tone seductive. She played with the dip of her dress, teasingly pulling it back somewhat and showing the slightest bit of skin. Beverly tried not to stare. "You're lying. You've wanted me since the day we met."

Beverly shook her head. "Oh, now I agree with you, Alana. You've _definitely_ gone over the deep end." She crossed then uncrossed her legs and gripped her seat with both hands.

Alana eyed her, smirking. "You stare at me." She leaned forward and bit her lip. "You watch my mouth move when I speak. And when we kiss hello," she reached over and played with the sleeve of Beverly's shirt, who was now mesmerized, slowly moving her hand closer to her neck, "You let your nose linger on my hair a little bit longer than necessary, then take a breath in." she trailed off.

Beverly jumped back into reality once Alana's fingers brushed over her neck, pushing her hand away and grabbing her menu. "I don't think I can have this discussion anymore. Can we order?" her voice higher than usual.

Alana leaned back and puffed out her chest slightly and watched her.

"I think you should see a doctor." Beverly said without looking up.

"You're angry." Alana took a sip of her drink.

"I'm not. I'm flabbergasted. To think that after all these years of what I thought was a close friendship, you have the insane notion that I… that _we…_" she paused. "I'm married, Al."

"I know. So am I."

"And I love Steven." Beverly sounded like she was forcing out a lie that she had created long ago that was nearly forgotten. "Not to mention that I am one hundred percent heterosexual."

Alana huffed, her façade breaking. "I'm losing my mind, Bev!"

Beverly's voice was shaking a bit. "I wish I could help you. I really do." She played with the corner of her menu.

Alana reached over again and put a hand around Beverly's wrist. "You love me."

"Of course I do, but – that doesn't mean I desire you in a sexual manner." She pulled her hand away once again.

A sly smile came across Alana's face. "What about New Year's Eve?"

Beverly's eyes widened and she looked down at her menu, away at a waiter across the room, back at Alana, and down at her menu again. "What about it?" she laughed nervously.

"New Year's Eve, 2005. You, me, Brian, and Jimmy spent it together. And I drank a little too many peach margaritas."

"I remember." Beverly tapped her fork against the table.

"I got a little too sick and Brian ended up carrying me to the bathroom, and you stayed to help."

Beverly was looking anywhere except at Alana. "You were so sick. And Zee was so worried that you'd puke on his new carpet."

"I remember thinking that I was never going to stop throwing up. And when I finally did, I brushed my teeth and lay down on the bathroom floor and closed my eyes… and you kissed me. On the mouth."

Beverly laughed nervously again and adjusted herself in her chair. "I didn't."

"You did. For a good long time."

"Al, I think you might have, ah, dreamt it, because I'm pretty sure I would remember if-"

"I remember thinking how soft your mouth was." She ran her fingers over her lips at the memory. "You held my lower lip for an extra second and then…" she placed a hand on Beverly's knee, "And then you let go and the air hissed out of me like a balloon."

Beverly jumped and pushed Alana's hand away. "I didn't kiss you, Al. I – I think I – might've remembered if I had kissed you. I may have peck on the cheek because I – felt _sorry_ for you. But beyond that you're mistaken." She crossed her arms defensively.

"I felt your tongue!"

"Alana!" she motioned around them once again. "This is really inappropriate." She whispered.

She ignored that. "I don't see what the big deal is! You'd get me… I'd get my fling… Everybody wins." She smiled.

Beverly hesitated, searching for something to go against Alana's proposition. "Except for Thomas and Steven."

"We don't tell them. It'd be a secret between friends. And viable!"

"It's not that simple."

Alana sighed. "Why not?"

Beverly hesitated again. "Because. It just… isn't that simple."

"But… we're _friends_. I can trust you. There's no danger of falling in love. I was gonna say you're honest, but you can't even admit to kissing me when we both know-"

Beverly threw her hands up in defeat. "Okay, alright, alright, I kissed you. But in my defense, I had a little too much to drink that night myself and-" she glanced over at a woman who was staring at them from a different table. "Can I help you?" she glared at the woman until she looked away.

"You were stone cold sober." Alana said once Beverly's attention was on her again. "You were on antibiotics, remember?"

"Well. You. You looked so – pretty there." She stammered, "Lying on the floor… With your hair spread out all over the mat. So vulnerable and so…" Alana grasped Beverly's hand. "So beautiful, actually."

"Sleep with me, Bev."

"I… I can't."

Alana was the one to pull her hand away this time. "Why not?"

"Because I'm in love with you." She deadpanned.

Alana blinked. "What?"

"I'm in love with you, Al. Do you think I go around kissing smelly drunken women because it's a kink I have?"

Alana toyed with her napkin that was still neatly folded on her plate. "No, I thought that-"

"That my heart couldn't possibly leap every time that we see each other or that I could possibly feel profound _jealousy _every time you reached for _Thomas_ like every _other_ happily married couple?" she hissed as Alana took a big sip of her wine, but her voice immediately softened. "That I couldn't possibly have these real feelings for you?"

"But I thought that-"

"What? What did you think, Al?"

"I don't know, that it was a harmless crush like schoolgirls?"

"Not exactly."

"No?"

Beverly shook her head, ashamed, and Alana took a big sip of her wine. They sat in an awkward silence. Beverly nervously flipped her fork over repeatedly, clinging against her knife. Alana set her glass down, only to pick it back up and take another sip. And another.

"Where does this leave us?" Alana asked quietly.

"I don't know."

Beverly resumed turning her fork over repeatedly and Alana took another sip of her wine. She set it down and Beverly grabbed it and took a large gulp of it and sighed. And Alana took it and sipped from it again as soon as Beverly set it down.

"Maybe I have a drinking problem." Alana said.

"Maybe."

"I have a problem."

"Yes." Beverly said awkwardly, playing with her nails.

"And… _you _have a problem."

Beverly tapped her knuckles together. "Yep…"

Alana reached for her glass again but thought against it. "So what should we do?"

Beverly grabbed her menu. "I think we should order."

Alana picked up her menu, but kept her eyes on Beverly. "You know…"

"Hm?"

She hesitated. "I… I wouldn't mind."

Beverly eyed her, skeptical. "You're lying."

"Well, no, not… not exactly." She crossed and uncrossed her legs. "I mean... we could try it…"

Beverly gave her a pleading look. "Al, please don't. Don't pity me. For you, it would be just a fling. A one-time thing with no strings attached. But for me, it would be – so much more. And I can't do that to myself. Or to you. Just – just let me have these feelings in peace."

"But it. It wouldn't. Not necessarily."

Beverly put her menu down with a bit more force than she intended. "_Not necessarily_, Al? You're the psychologist here. You know that you're only thinking and feeling these things because the topic's arisen. You don't know what you're talking about."

"But the thing is, Bev…" she placed her menu back on the table, too.

"What? What's the _thing_, Alana? And don't say that you love me that way back. Because I know you don't. Not the way I do."

Alana couldn't look her in the eyes. Her only choice was to remain quiet. So she did.

It felt like hours had passed.

Beverly blinked. "You're not serious, Al. Please don't lie to me."

Alana looked up at Beverly and shrugged, her cheeks flushed pink. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "Why do you think I kissed you back?"

Beverly uncrossed her legs and looked around, not sure how to react. She had thought about that countless times before, but she thought she had imagined it. "You're – you're messing with me. You're just saying that because you feel sorry and you want to sleep with someone."

Alana shook her head. "I'm leaving Thomas, Bev."

That took Beverly by surprise. "What?"

"I'm leaving Thomas."

"_Why_?"

Alana hesitated. "You're right. Maybe this isn't the best place to talk about this."

"No, you made me stay here and I'm damn well making you stay here, too. Why are you leaving Thomas? I thought you said you loved him?"

"I do. But it's not working out. And I can't – I can't be with him."

"Why?"

"There's – there's someone. Else."

Beverly rolled her eyes. "Someone else _who_? Why are you doing this, Alana? First you make me tell you how I feel about you, and now you won't be specific with this? Come _on_, Al. Work with me! What is going on with you?!" she was almost shouting by now.

Alana gave a frustrated groan. "You! It's _you_, Beverly! It's always been _you_, okay! Why the hell do you think I brought you here, to the place where we first met?! Why do you think I asked _you_ to sleep with me? Why do you think I made you tell me how you feel about me? It's because _I love you, Bev_!" she enunciated each word. Her chest was heaving, but her voice became soft. "I love you."

Beverly stared at her for an eternity, her eyes boring holes into her.

"You're not just saying that?"

"No."

"Oh."

They stared at each other.

"So you're leaving Thomas for-"

"For you."

"And what if I had said that I didn't feel these things for you? What then?"

"Then I would have continued on with my life with Thomas. But I knew you would say yes."

"Oh, really?"

"I've known you for _years_, Bev. I noticed. Like I said earlier."

"But you never showed any hint of reciprocating my feelings."

"Oh, yes, I did. You're not the only one whose nose lingers a bit longer than necessary when we kiss hello. Why do you even think we kiss hello? And that's only the beginning."

"Oh."

They stared at each other again, calming down.

"So where does this leave us?" Alana asked.

Beverly sighed. "You and I both know that there's only one thing to do now." she smirked.

A wide smile stretched across Alana's face and Beverly grabbed her hand, threw some money on the table, and pulled Alana out the door and into their new life together.

_A/N: Reviews are always appreciated._


End file.
